Honour killing victim ‘was battered by her husband’

Muhammed Iqbal, 45, husband of the late Farzana Iqbal, waits for his relatives outside police station in Lahore (Picture: Reuters)

The sister of a pregnant woman who was battered to death with bricks in broad daylight has accused her husband of the ‘honour killing’.

Farzana Iqbal, 25, was killed by her father and brothers outside Lahore’s high court on Tuesday, according to police and witnesses.

But yesterday her elder sister said it was her husband, Iqbal, who did it.

‘Muhammed Iqbal and his accomplices killed Farzana and her father and the rest of her family were wrongly accused of murder,’ Khalida Bibi told reporters in the Pakistan city. ‘I was present at the scene and when she came out of the lawyer’s chamber and as soon as she saw us standing on the other side of the road, she rushed towards us.

‘Iqbal and his accomplices chased her and hit her with bricks,’ she alleged.

The husband dismissed her accusations saying they married in January because they truly loved each other.

‘It’s all rubbish and a bundle of lies,’ he said. ‘She wants to hold me responsible for her sister’s murder which was committed by her own father, brothers and other family members.’ In a dark twist,

Iqbal has admitted killing his first wife in a dispute over Farzana in 2009.

Khalida Bibi said she had spent 13 days with Farzana in a women’s shelter last month where she said she was hiding from Iqbal.

‘She told me that Iqbal had kidnapped her and forced her into marriage,’ she said. ‘She feared that Iqbal might kill her like his previous wife, Ayesha.’ Police have arrested five people includingFarzana’s father.

The fact that the murder happened in public view outside one of Pakistan’s top courts drew more attention to the case than is usual.

Last year, 869 such killings were reported in the media, according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. The true figure is probably higher since many cases go unreported.